Science/Tech

Schreiber suspends home affairs officials over fake AI references
Home affairs has suspended two senior officials after AI ‘hallucinations’ were found in its new immigration white paper.

OpenAI tells ChatGPT models to stop talking about goblins
The AI firm said that unlike previous model bugs, this issue “crept in subtly”.

South Africa headed to the polls in November
South Africa will hold its next municipal elections on 4 November, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a post on X.

Paratus Mozambique powers 2026 Santa Maria fishing showdown
Starlink links anglers, organisers and the local community at Mozambique’s premier big-game fishing event.

Google humbles Big Tech’s cloud heavyweights
Sundar Pichai’s bet on full-stack AI – chips, models, cloud – is starting to deliver real commercial returns.

The breach is in the database
South Africa’s breach record tells a consistent story – and it leads to the database layer, writes Ascent Technology MD Johan Lamberts.

Logistics start-up Shiprazor pulls in R44-million seed round
Cape Town start-up Shiprazor has raised R44-million, led by Norrsken22, to expand its courier network and AI tools.
Palantir Is Making a French Chore Coat. Yes, That Palantir.
The data analysis company is selling a version of the jacket that it says will show its commitment to “re-industrializing America.”
Struggling With Phone Addiction? Try These Remedies.
Counting minutes is a poor way to curb phone habits. Real antidotes, experts say, include mindful parenting, curated content and human connection.
How Good Is Google’s Gemini AI at Making Travel Plans?
Gemini is a digital Swiss Army knife for planning flights, activities and routes, but it isn’t perfect. Why did it forget to put underwear on the packing list?

UK researchers develop tool to identify people most at risk of obesity-related diseases
Data tool could help NHS prioritise who gets access to limited weight-loss medication, say scientists
A new tool that can shed light on who is most at risk of obesity-related diseases could help identify people who would benefit most from weight-loss medications, researchers have said.
Recent data suggests about two-thirds of adults in England are overweight or obese – a situation that has...

Why big IT projects in South Africa keep drifting off course
Optimism bias, weak oversight and hidden complexity have helped derail some of South Africa’s biggest IT projects.

Hospitality sector embraces Google Workspace and Gemini to cut admin
Google Workspace and Gemini are putting the human touch back into South Africa’s hospitality sector.

A world record, a media frenzy and Earth’s wonder: Guardian Australia’s top photos of April – video
From world record breakers to the most iconic image of all time, these are Guardian Australia’s top three photos for April. Photographer and picture editor, Carly Earl, hand-picks three photographs as her favourites every month and explains the craft and composition that makes them special. April’s edition includes a quiet, intimate moment of record-breaking athlete, Gout Gout, a picture...

Samsung sees no respite as memory shortage set to worsen
Samsung says the global memory shortage will deepen significantly in 2027 as AI demand outpaces chip supply.

Goodbye, Showmax
Once positioned as Africa’s answer to Netflix, the homegrown streaming pioneer fades to black tonight.

Sub-two-hour marathon, spooky houses explained and why is UK health in decline? – podcast
Madeleine Finlay sits down with co-host and Guardian science editor Ian Sample to talk through three eye-catching stories from the week, including the news that the number of years people in the UK are spending in good health has declined compared with a decade ago. Also on the agenda is the science, tech and nutrition behind two runners at this weekend’s London marathon breaking the two-hour...

Big US tech stocks swing as investors probe AI spend
Meta, Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft all reported their financial performance at the same time on Wednesday

Trump hosts crew of historic Artemis mission: ‘I would have had no trouble making it’
The astronauts joined president in Oval Office for a press conference, and it wasn’t long before he praised himself
Donald Trump hosted the crew of the historic Artemis II lunar flyby mission at the White House on Wednesday.
The four astronauts – commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen – joined the president in the Oval Office for a...
Musk Says He ‘Was a Fool’ to Provide OpenAI’s Early Funding
In the second day of a trial pitting Mr. Musk against OpenAI, he said he was misled by the company’s chief executive, Sam Altman. But OpenAI’s lawyer said evidence showed the opposite.